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Information sources in grey literature
404
Information Sources in Grey Literature. 175 p. ISBN O-86291-871-5. $58.00.
Reviews
By C.P. Auger. 2nd ed. London,
U.K.: Bowker-Saur,
1989.
The grey literature is a term that is increasingly applied to those publications that fall outside the standard publishing and booktrade channels. This literature would include technical reports, conference papers, proceedings, translations, and theses. Occasionally, trade publications and industrial and military standards are also included in this group. The grey literature encompasses a large body of work that is extremely important in engineering and science as well as several other fields. Because of the varied formats, publication practices, distribution, and archiving of this material, the literature presents special challenges and problems to users and librarians who need access. Information Sources in Grey Literature attempts to improve the understanding of grey literature by reviewing the evolution of its different components and examining the current structure of these publications in the information world. This book is a revision of an earlier classic work on the technical report literature by C.P. Auger titled User of Reports Literature Information Sources in Grey Literature broadens the scope of the earlier book to some extent and brings the information up to date. The arrangement of the chapters in the two books is almost identical, as are the chapter titles. The book considers the grey literature first as a format, and then looks at the various subject areas in which these materials hold significance. Additional information on the trade literature, specialized identification tools, and organizational addresses are provided in the three appendices. The technical reports literature is covered in detail in the first three chapters. Technical reports make up the bulk of the grey literature and, arguably, form its most important component, especially in engineering and the sciences. The development of the reports literature is followed from the appearance of the first report series in the early years of the century, through the postwar boom period, and up to the present. The major producers and distribution channels for technical reports are discussed as are important national repositories such as the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), the British Library Document Supply Centre, and the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology (JICST). International efforts to control this literature are reviewed, and a new European database of grey literature (SIGLE) is described. A section of Chapter 2 looks at the special access problems created by the distribution limitations placed on many reports by issuing and government agencies. The bibliographic control and indexing of the grey literature is covered in the third chapter. A good review of report numbering practices is presented and the COSATI cataloging guidelines are compared with other schemes such as AACR and UDC. The fourth chapter of Information Sources in Grey Literature deals with the fundamentals of writing a report, and, while it contains some interesting points, it is not really needed in this book. The next chapter covers theses, translations, and meeting papers, and is full of valuable information on these materials. Thesis announcement journals and suppliers are reviewed for the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, and France. Translations may be the most difficult of all the grey literature to locate and acquire, and a large section is devoted to examining announcement tools and clearinghouses that specialize in these items. The technical paper and preprint publishing practices of some major U.S. societies (such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers) are covered, and resources for gaining access to them are suggested. This chapter concludes with a discussion of resources for locating information on forthcoming congresses as well as the published proceedings of those that have already occurred. Chapter 6 gives an overview of microforms and their associated technology, discusses microfiche standards and economics of use, and also presents some negative aspects such as reader resistance to these formats. The rest of the book (Chapters 7 through 12) examines the place of the grey literature in several major fields - aerospace, the life sciences, business, economics, education, energy, and science and technology. The treatment of each subject area is similar, beginning with an introduction, followed by a discussion of important issuing organizations, announcement services, and related online database systems. The chapters are all informative, and the ones on engineering and the sciences are particularly thorough. The major role played by the U.S. as a producer, supplier, and bibliographer of technical reports is underscored, and European and Japanese contributions and resources in these areas are well covered. All of the key announcement publications and indexes are detailed as are the various online systems important for obtaining access to the grey literature. The appendices are concise and provide addresses for the many organizations mentioned in the book and also touch on the trade literature and bibliographic tools for identifying report series. hlformation Sources in Grey Literature provides a very good treatment of the subject and represents a valuable addition to the professional literature. Even though the book covers much of the same ground as the earlier edition, enough new material is included to bring the reader up to date in the field. An added benefit for those in the United States is that the author’s British perspective provides useful insights into
Reviews
405
the grey literature originating in the United Kingdom and Europe. This book is highly recommended resource tool for academic and special libraries that deal with these materials.
as a
THOMAS W. CONKLING Engineering Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 USA
CANSIM (Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management) ducer and disseminator). [Configurations and access vary.]
System.
0ttawa:Statistics
Canada
(Pro-
CANS04 (Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management) System is Statistics Canada’s electronic data system and its official vehicle for the dissemination of information in machine readable form. CANSIM is basically raw data, the computerized statistical files of Statistics Canada. There are three levels or layers to CANSIJ4, and what the users see depends upon the level(s) at which they are looking. There is the basic nucleus, or shell, which is the CANSIM System. This system comprises three databases: (1) the Time Series Data Base containing approximately 400,000 (economic) time series-this is the database most users see in some form or another and which will be analysed in further detail below; (2) the Cross Classified Data Base containing multidimensional tables on both social and economic subjects; and finally, (3) the Census Summary Data Service, which contains results of the censuses of population, housing, and agriculture. Special retrievals can be obtained on paper, diskette, tape, or color charts directly from Statistics Canada. These specialized retrievals are individually priced according to system use and labor costs. Users of large segments can purchase magnetic tapes such as the Census or Public use Sample Tapes, again priced accordingly. Differences in access, use, and user perceptions can be demonstrated by using the University Base as an example. Universities can purchase a subset of the most used Time Series Data Base (25,000 time series) for C$l,500 on a quarterly basis or C$900 for a yearly edition. The so-called University Base comes as raw data, however, and it is up to each institution to make it usable. This leads. as with all raw data, to some widely dissimilar situations at different institutions and often results in unwarranted, severe criticism of Statistics Canada for providing “useless” data. At both the University of Toronto and University of Alberta (Edmonton), for instance, the University Base is available in an online interactive environment. Each university has written its own user-friendly software for access. This interface programming and its costs are not trivial. At York University the data base is held as a batch system, and the user needs intimate knowledge of the SAS programming language in order to use the tapes. As a result, perceptions of CANSIM vary enormously from place to place and user to user when such magnetic tape raw products are purchased and used and still referred to as CANSIM. As mentioned earlier, the modes of access to the Time Series Data Base (No. 1) are the core of the system. The Time Series Data Base is available not just as the University Base. General users can obtain access to the Main Base (400,000 time series, updated daily) through a host service bureau called IST. No outsider may reach the Statistics Canada computer directly, and all basic copyright to CANSIM remains with Statistics Canada. Public online access is currently also offered to the Mini Base (25,000 time series) through nine secondary distributors. Each of these uses its own software and most offer other enhancements as well as other types of data. The variety of the software these vendors provide allows them to differentiate their products and services. The best known of these companies outside Canada are I. P. Sharp, a Reuters company, and Data Resources Inc. This form of access to statistics is most similar to a system like DIALOG. In the last few years, Statistics Canada has been given a mandate to further encourage private enterprise to purchase and rework their data to suitable market forms. This has spawned some interesting new products, though not always without headaches for libraries, especially depositories, which do not automatically receive these products. One of these new products is a CD of the CAhJSIMTime Series Data Base called the “Statistics Canada Data Disk” (100,000 time series, updated annually, C$1,995). OPTIM Corporation has contracted to develop this CD as well as an enhanced user interface. The CD has two parts. Part I is a reference guide to data (also available as a separate CD). Part II contains the data. As with any prototype, this new product requires numerous improvements, such as a combination of the indexes (reference guide) and the data itself, instead of the necessity to wade through Part I in order to use Part II. The
Information Sources in Grey Literature. 175 p. ISBN O-86291-871-5. $58.00.
Reviews
By C.P. Auger. 2nd ed. London,
U.K.: Bowker-Saur,
1989.
The grey literature is a term that is increasingly applied to those publications that fall outside the standard publishing and booktrade channels. This literature would include technical reports, conference papers, proceedings, translations, and theses. Occasionally, trade publications and industrial and military standards are also included in this group. The grey literature encompasses a large body of work that is extremely important in engineering and science as well as several other fields. Because of the varied formats, publication practices, distribution, and archiving of this material, the literature presents special challenges and problems to users and librarians who need access. Information Sources in Grey Literature attempts to improve the understanding of grey literature by reviewing the evolution of its different components and examining the current structure of these publications in the information world. This book is a revision of an earlier classic work on the technical report literature by C.P. Auger titled User of Reports Literature Information Sources in Grey Literature broadens the scope of the earlier book to some extent and brings the information up to date. The arrangement of the chapters in the two books is almost identical, as are the chapter titles. The book considers the grey literature first as a format, and then looks at the various subject areas in which these materials hold significance. Additional information on the trade literature, specialized identification tools, and organizational addresses are provided in the three appendices. The technical reports literature is covered in detail in the first three chapters. Technical reports make up the bulk of the grey literature and, arguably, form its most important component, especially in engineering and the sciences. The development of the reports literature is followed from the appearance of the first report series in the early years of the century, through the postwar boom period, and up to the present. The major producers and distribution channels for technical reports are discussed as are important national repositories such as the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), the British Library Document Supply Centre, and the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology (JICST). International efforts to control this literature are reviewed, and a new European database of grey literature (SIGLE) is described. A section of Chapter 2 looks at the special access problems created by the distribution limitations placed on many reports by issuing and government agencies. The bibliographic control and indexing of the grey literature is covered in the third chapter. A good review of report numbering practices is presented and the COSATI cataloging guidelines are compared with other schemes such as AACR and UDC. The fourth chapter of Information Sources in Grey Literature deals with the fundamentals of writing a report, and, while it contains some interesting points, it is not really needed in this book. The next chapter covers theses, translations, and meeting papers, and is full of valuable information on these materials. Thesis announcement journals and suppliers are reviewed for the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, and France. Translations may be the most difficult of all the grey literature to locate and acquire, and a large section is devoted to examining announcement tools and clearinghouses that specialize in these items. The technical paper and preprint publishing practices of some major U.S. societies (such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers) are covered, and resources for gaining access to them are suggested. This chapter concludes with a discussion of resources for locating information on forthcoming congresses as well as the published proceedings of those that have already occurred. Chapter 6 gives an overview of microforms and their associated technology, discusses microfiche standards and economics of use, and also presents some negative aspects such as reader resistance to these formats. The rest of the book (Chapters 7 through 12) examines the place of the grey literature in several major fields - aerospace, the life sciences, business, economics, education, energy, and science and technology. The treatment of each subject area is similar, beginning with an introduction, followed by a discussion of important issuing organizations, announcement services, and related online database systems. The chapters are all informative, and the ones on engineering and the sciences are particularly thorough. The major role played by the U.S. as a producer, supplier, and bibliographer of technical reports is underscored, and European and Japanese contributions and resources in these areas are well covered. All of the key announcement publications and indexes are detailed as are the various online systems important for obtaining access to the grey literature. The appendices are concise and provide addresses for the many organizations mentioned in the book and also touch on the trade literature and bibliographic tools for identifying report series. hlformation Sources in Grey Literature provides a very good treatment of the subject and represents a valuable addition to the professional literature. Even though the book covers much of the same ground as the earlier edition, enough new material is included to bring the reader up to date in the field. An added benefit for those in the United States is that the author’s British perspective provides useful insights into
Reviews
405
the grey literature originating in the United Kingdom and Europe. This book is highly recommended resource tool for academic and special libraries that deal with these materials.
as a
THOMAS W. CONKLING Engineering Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 USA
CANSIM (Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management) ducer and disseminator). [Configurations and access vary.]
System.
0ttawa:Statistics
Canada
(Pro-
CANS04 (Canadian Socioeconomic Information Management) System is Statistics Canada’s electronic data system and its official vehicle for the dissemination of information in machine readable form. CANSIM is basically raw data, the computerized statistical files of Statistics Canada. There are three levels or layers to CANSIJ4, and what the users see depends upon the level(s) at which they are looking. There is the basic nucleus, or shell, which is the CANSIM System. This system comprises three databases: (1) the Time Series Data Base containing approximately 400,000 (economic) time series-this is the database most users see in some form or another and which will be analysed in further detail below; (2) the Cross Classified Data Base containing multidimensional tables on both social and economic subjects; and finally, (3) the Census Summary Data Service, which contains results of the censuses of population, housing, and agriculture. Special retrievals can be obtained on paper, diskette, tape, or color charts directly from Statistics Canada. These specialized retrievals are individually priced according to system use and labor costs. Users of large segments can purchase magnetic tapes such as the Census or Public use Sample Tapes, again priced accordingly. Differences in access, use, and user perceptions can be demonstrated by using the University Base as an example. Universities can purchase a subset of the most used Time Series Data Base (25,000 time series) for C$l,500 on a quarterly basis or C$900 for a yearly edition. The so-called University Base comes as raw data, however, and it is up to each institution to make it usable. This leads. as with all raw data, to some widely dissimilar situations at different institutions and often results in unwarranted, severe criticism of Statistics Canada for providing “useless” data. At both the University of Toronto and University of Alberta (Edmonton), for instance, the University Base is available in an online interactive environment. Each university has written its own user-friendly software for access. This interface programming and its costs are not trivial. At York University the data base is held as a batch system, and the user needs intimate knowledge of the SAS programming language in order to use the tapes. As a result, perceptions of CANSIM vary enormously from place to place and user to user when such magnetic tape raw products are purchased and used and still referred to as CANSIM. As mentioned earlier, the modes of access to the Time Series Data Base (No. 1) are the core of the system. The Time Series Data Base is available not just as the University Base. General users can obtain access to the Main Base (400,000 time series, updated daily) through a host service bureau called IST. No outsider may reach the Statistics Canada computer directly, and all basic copyright to CANSIM remains with Statistics Canada. Public online access is currently also offered to the Mini Base (25,000 time series) through nine secondary distributors. Each of these uses its own software and most offer other enhancements as well as other types of data. The variety of the software these vendors provide allows them to differentiate their products and services. The best known of these companies outside Canada are I. P. Sharp, a Reuters company, and Data Resources Inc. This form of access to statistics is most similar to a system like DIALOG. In the last few years, Statistics Canada has been given a mandate to further encourage private enterprise to purchase and rework their data to suitable market forms. This has spawned some interesting new products, though not always without headaches for libraries, especially depositories, which do not automatically receive these products. One of these new products is a CD of the CAhJSIMTime Series Data Base called the “Statistics Canada Data Disk” (100,000 time series, updated annually, C$1,995). OPTIM Corporation has contracted to develop this CD as well as an enhanced user interface. The CD has two parts. Part I is a reference guide to data (also available as a separate CD). Part II contains the data. As with any prototype, this new product requires numerous improvements, such as a combination of the indexes (reference guide) and the data itself, instead of the necessity to wade through Part I in order to use Part II. The